About Red Velvet

Red Velvet made their debut on August 1, 2014 under SM Entertainment with the digital single, “Happiness”. Initially, the group consisted of four members: Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Jo. A fifth member, Yeri, was tacked on in March 2015. “Happiness” set a gold standard for K-Pop groups coming out of the gate, immediately hitting no.4 on the Billboard charts following its debut; making them the first K-Pop group to do so.

With “Happiness” the group had a spark, albeit the release of “Be Natural” would blaze a trail for the future. The song was actually a remake of a 2000 song of the same name by artist S.E.S. The album was very well-received, earning overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. The song made it to 33rd on the Gaon Digital Chart and no 6 on Billboard’s World Digital Songs Chart. Their dazzling debut ended up winning them, “Rookie of the Year” at noth the Golden Disk and Seoul Music Awards.

On March 11,2015 Yuri was introduced to the group, her first contribution for the group’s inaugural mini-album, Ice Cream Cake. On March 19th the album showcased on KBS Music Bank, winning them their first music show trophy 8 days later. For the first half of 2015, it outpaced every other other South Korean girl group in sales. The song landed the group an international gig at the first ever KCON festival in Los Angeles, California.

The follow up to Ice Cream Cake, Red was the group’s first full length album; one which would ascend them into a rare air. Described by Billboard as, “One of the year’s most enjoyable and experimental Pop LP’s.” The writers at Dazed sang it’s praises, claiming the album, “Marked a monumental, career-crowning musical tornado.”

The Album reached #1 on both Billboard’s World Music Chart and the Gaon Album Chart. The Single Dumb Dumb would rise to number three on Billboard’s Digital Songs Chart and become America’s hottest selling K-Pop single of the week. According to Dazed it topped the list of, “Top 20 K-Pop tracks of 2015” and was included as a part of Rolling Stone’s “10 Best Music Videos of 2015.”

Red Velvet second mini album, The Velvet was released on March 17, 2016. The title track, “One of these nights” is a microcosm of the group’s vintage chic R&B image. Perhaps their most soulful and vulnerable song, “One of These Nights” was an homage to vintage R&B with its sweeping orchestral set and jazzy piano progression.

They would further bolster their clout with their second full-length album, “Perfect Velvet”. Building on the R&B heavy, “Velvet” moniker with the single “Peek-A-Boo” would earn them a #2 spot on the Gaon Digital as well as Gaon album Chart. Perfect Velvet would sell over 100,000 physical copies and “Peek-A- Boo” won 1st place on Inkigayo further solidifying its status at the tope of the charts.

Their subsequent reissue of Red Velvet, The Perfect Red Velvet, complete with five new tracks, would achieve a, “Perfect All-Kill” topping all of South Korea’s real time music charts upon its release, thanks to the help of lead single, “Power Up”.

With their musical immortality in South Korea having been affirmed, the group set its sights on Japan and North America with the release of their first Japanese single, “Sappy” on May 29, 2019. Earlier that year, the group embarked on the first leg of its North American Redmare Tour, holding shows in Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, and Newark as well as Toronto and Vancouver, becoming the first K-Pop group to do so in three years. They also managed to crossover with American artists Ellie Goulding and Diplo in a remixed version of, “Close to Me” released on April 5.

Irene Bio

Born in Daegyu, South Korea Irene was groomed for the leadership position early on. She joined SM entertainment and trained for five years. In 2013, she was one of the second batch of trainees introduced under the designation SM Rookies alongside fellow trainee Lami and now-NCT member Jaehyun. In a separate project, she appeared in Henry Kau’s song “1-4-3” several months prior.

She and band member Seulgi were part of the band’s initial promotional material, dancing to the S.E.S song, “Be Natural” as a way to promote both the company and the member’s dancing ability. She debuted with the band on August 1, 2014 and appeared in the music video of Kyhyun’s single, “At Gwanghwamun” in November of that same year.

In May 2015, she hosted the musical variety show, Music Show with actor Park Bo-Gum. The press and public took note of their amazing natural chemistry as well as their respective hosting and singing skills, calling them one of the best partnerships in the show’s history.

Irene made her acting debut in the web drama Women at a Game Company as the female lead and in October she hosted On Style’s Laundry Day. Later on that month she became a panelist on the KBS show Trick and True, co-hosting with her fellow bandmate Wendy. She holds several more hosting credits, including the Korean Popular Culture & Arts Awards, KBS Song Festival, and the SBS Super ConcertIn Taipei.

She has also lent her talent to advertising, with her natural assets lending themselves well to the profession. TC Candler, a world renowned magazine consisting primarily of independent critics, ranked her 41st on the “100 most beautiful faces of 2018” with several corporations taking notice. She became a model for Ivy Club opposite label mate EXO in 2015. In 2016, she promoted Maxwell House and in 2017 she was named the official endorser for Hyundai. In February 2018, she would go on to endorse contact lens brand Cooper Vision. Two months later she would land yet another gig for famous vitamin brand Lemona given the honorary designation of, “Human Vitamin”; She would then pursue an exclusive modeling job with French outdoor brand Eider for the Fall/Winter of this year and the Spring/Summer of next year.

In her Spare time, Irene enjoys cooking seaweed soup for her bandmates birthdays and is a connoisseur of Red-flesh Watermelon and Pink Island Ice Tea, which consists of Red-flesh watermelon, Pink Ukulele, and Red hibiscus flower. She loves Axes, the color pink and cats.

Seulgi Bio

Born in Ansan, South Korea, Seulgi is the youngest of her two siblings, and from a young age was introduced to the music industry. She began training with SM entertainment in 2007 at only 13 and six years later was apart of the label’s pre-debut project SM Rookies alongside current NCT members Jeno and Taeyong. Her training was put to the test in July 2014, as a feature in Henry Lau’s song “Butterfly” off of his second EP Fantastic. She was also featured in the music video for the single, “Fantastic” and two months later made her official debut with Red Velvet.

In January 2015, Before exploring more conventional media, Seulgi starred in the SM Entertainment musical School Oz as Dorothy. From there, she was part of the JTBC variety show Off to School as well as 100 People 100 Songs with fellow bandmate Wendy. Later on that year, she would be featured in the film SMTown: The Stage, a behind the scenes glimpse complete with interviews of various SM Entertainment artists as they traveled to China, Japan, and Korea promoting a label wide tour, “SMTOWN Live World Tour IV.”

In July 2016, she released, “Don’t Push Me” with Wendy, an OST to the KBS2 drama Uncontrollably Fond. In October, she took the route of precedent and appeared on King of Masked Singer under the alias Cinema Heaven and managed a cameo appearance later on that year in the KBS2 series Descendants of the Sun.

Another OST release would follow in 2017, with, “You’re the Only One I see” for the KBS2 drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth. On January 22 a duet with Super Junior’s Yesung, entitled, “Darling U” was released for SM station, a digital music project initiated by the company with the intent of releasing collaborative singles amongst its flagship artists.

Outside of the company parameters, she worked with Taemin of Shinee on a duet entitled, “Heart Stop”, which was part of his second full Korean album Move and she was apart of the nucleus of her own 7 member girl group Girl’s Next Door, basically a spin-off collaboration initiated from the TV Show Idol Drama Operation Team. The first official single, “Deep Blue Eyes” released on July 14, 2017. Not only did they sing, but they all acted in and produced their own drama, “Let’s Only Walk the Flower Road” which chronicles the story of 7 idol trainees and their daily hardships.

In 2018, Seulgi was cast in Law of the Jungle In Mexico and confirmed as part of the cast of JTBC new variety show Secret Unnie. Fellow Girl’s Next Door bandmate Moonbyul reached out and she was featured on her solo debut of, “Selfish”, released in May of that year. In September, the single, “Wow thing” was released as part of a new mini group collaboration with SM station featuring (G)I-dle’s Soyeon, GFriend’s SinB and solo artist Chungha.

On a more personal note, Seulgi was voted #20 by TC Candler as “One of the Most Beautiful Faces of 2018” ahead of frontman and bandmate Irene. She loves Pineapples, a beautiful laugh, and drawing as well as playing the guitar.

Wendy

Wendy Bio

Out of Seoul, South Korea Wendy is perhaps the most well-traveled member of the group. She stayed with her family in Jecheon until her fifth year of Elementary School when she moved to Ontario, Canada with her older sister Son Seung-hee to study abroad, subsequently moving to Brockville, Minnesota where she attended Shattuck Saint-Mary’s High School in Fairibault. Wendy was a well-balanced, rigorous, and highly ambitious student, excelling athletically, musically, and academically.

She Later studied at Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, Ontario and participated in the school’s show choir Vocal Fusion. While living in both countries, she became fluent in both French and Spanish nd began using her English name “Wendy Son”.

Not only traveled and mentally adept but also musically well-rounded( she not only sings but plays guitar, flute, and saxophone) she made a submission for Koreaboo’s Global Auditions in 2011 through Cube Entertainment. It took some persuasion initially as her parents were at first skeptical and dubious of her musical pursuits, but later granted her their blessing. Ending up as one of fifteen finalists from over 5,000 submissions, she continued onto the final round in Vancouver and to her first solo showcase.

The events leading up to her group debut, however, were unintentional. after accompanying a friend to the S.M. global auditions in Canada the company cast her in an audition, and she passed. Due to her prior musical experience and aptitude, she only trained for two years as a part of SM Rookies, whereas most artists train for five or more years and made her debut for Red Velvet on August 1, 2014.

As a solo artist, she collaborated with rapper Yuk Jidam on the song, “Return”,released in June 2015, becoming an immediate hit that captured the #31 spot on the Gaon Singles Chart. Her follow-up, a duet with Eric Nam in 2016 entitled, “Spring Love” would climb even higher, to the #7 spot. 4 months later, her and bandmate Seulgi came together on the OST “Don’t Push Me” for the series Uncontrollably Fond. Her and Seulgi would continue this collaborative trend, releasing “I Can Only See You” and “Sound of your Heart” in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Throughout her solo tenure, Wendy would take her teamwork to an international level as well, joining the likes of Ricky Martin in a remake of, “Vente Pa’ Ca” and John Legend in “Written In the Stars”.

On the acting circuit, Wendy has mostly lent herself to variety shows, as a contestant on both King of Masked Singer and 100 People 100 Songs then as a panelist on We Got Married as well as Trick and True. She briefly flirted with hosting on 2017’s Raid the Convenience Store as well as K-Rush.

Personally, Wendy has a penchant for cooking, singing, and finding eclectic songs. Her favorite color is blue and her favorite fruit is the blue-flesh orange.

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Joy

Joy Bio

Born on Jeju Island and raised in Seoul, Joy’s family consists of her and two younger sisters, Park Ji-Yeong and Park Min-Ji. As a child, she was encouraged to pursue music after a rendition of a Korean rock song she did at a grade school festival. At 16, she auditioned and was cast by SM entertainment in 2012, from which point she trained under the agency for two years,, earning her now famous stage name, “Joy” after it was given to her by her vocal coach.

Joy was introduced as the fourth member of the group, not originally scheduled to debut as an original band member until last minute adjustments were made, and interestingly enough did not train under the pre-debut SM rookies label, either.

As an actress, Joy’s first credit was in the show We Got Married with Yook Sung-Jae (They went on to win best couple at the MBC entertainment awards) proceeded by “Trick and True”, “Oppa Thinking” and naturally,”King of Masked Singer” among others. Most notably, she played the lead role on Television series, “The Liar and his Lover”, earning the newcomer award at the OSEN Cable TV awards and “Tempted”.

Though Joy does not have the recognition for her beauty that her fellow bandmates possess( See Irene and Seulgi), she received her own pictorial courtesy of CéCi, at the same time she was modeling for Etude House cosmetics. SM entertainment would continue this trend, issuing an official photo series entitled Enjoy Your Monday With Joy.

As an independent artist, Joy has cut nearly a dozen singles, with 2016’s, “Always In My Heart” (Ft. Lim-Seoul Ang) ranking the highest at #10 on the Gaon Digital Chart with her OST single, “A Fox” reaching 43rd. Joy and acting companion Yook Sung-Jae came together for her next best single after that, “Young Love” which made the 52nd spot on the chart and “I’m Okay”, last but not least, managed the 85th spot.

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Yeri

Yeri Bio

Born in the heart of Seoul, South Korea, Yeri is the oldest of three sisters while also being the youngest member of Red Velvet. She joined SM after auditioning at the SM Weekly Audition in 2011. She was part the pre-debut group SM Rookies and had a brief appearance in the debut song, “Happiness” before being added on in 2015.

Her entrance kicked off with the debut of Ice Cream Cake. Yeri is first and foremost a composer and songwriter. She is credited with the lyrics and music to 2017’s Story by Ragoon and the songs “1000 lyrics” and “Dear Diary”( which were solo endeavors), once again providing both lyrics and music. In 2019, she penned the lyrics to, “Close To Me” side by side Ellie Goulding, Diplo and her fellow bandmates.

Yuri has some TV credits, breaking the ice with MBC Show! Music Core in 2015 and SM Entertainent’s own The Viewable SM as a host. Succeeding that were roles on Secret Unnie and Law of the Jungle In Thailand plus 2016’s Descendants of the Sun.

Furthermore, Yeri, together with NCT’s Reno, Jaemin, and Jeno all took part n the third season of SM Station, creating the music video for the single “Hair In the Air” and the Official Korean Soundtrack of the Tv series Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, both having been released on YouTube. On March 14, 2019 the music video for Yuri’s first solo project Dear Diary was also released on YouTube as a part of SM Station Season 3.